An opportunity for Civil Conversation

Mon Jan 26 15:26:19 PST 2004

Greetings Harison and ALL, 

I'm new OTL (OnTheList) after lurking for a short while (participating 
in SILENCE :). My name is Judy Tal, and I'm sought of familliar with 
the OST concept (Harison might remember a few private exchange 
of emails ... years ago), but not a practitioner, because my work is 
heardly done with large groups.

I totally agree with what you wrote, Harison. Moreover, my passion 
is to promote and enable GU (GoodUse) of this unlimited mean of 
collaboration (kind of transportation of thoughts, feelings, data ...) 
that technology has to offer us.

In my work I couldn't but notice the gap (very large and visible :) 
between the two worlds - the real and the virtual. In certain cultures 
this gap is huge!!!. Thus I put more effort into small groups, by way 
of creating and building SmallWorlds. I work with a local application 
that supports such collaborations. The original version of the software 
has been developed by my colleagues in the Netherlands, and adopted 
into a hebrew version by me. Mind at Work are about to release the 
second version of their web-application under a new name and I'll be 
glad to notify whoever is interested to take part in the betha-tests. 

Warm regards,
Jude

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Harrison Owen 
  To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU 
  Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2004 3:37 PM
  Subject: Re: An opportunity for Civil Conversation

  Catherine - it is true that our "major networks" would love to think that they control the news. And our President (The Shrub) would love to think that he controls the networks. And unfortunately (or very fortunately as I would think) both are profoundly in error. The networks are losing market share - the truth of the matter is that a large number of Americans are on Cable (I am not) - where there are more channels than you could ever flip to. True, a substantial portion cover such exciting topics as How to Have a Better Sex life - but there is more. Add in the fact that we are in truth a "wired" nation - and it becomes clear that the possibility of controlling the flow of information in the USA is as possible as it was for the "Rulers" of China during the Tienamen (sp?) Square situation of several years ago. Nothing would have pleased those folks more than to closed down communication with the outside world. And they would have done it if they could - but had they done it (cut the phone lines) they could not get the economic data they needed. I remember sitting in my basement with several young Chinese Students during that time, who wanted to know what was happening, and support their fellows. I happened to have a number of phone lines, faxes, and InterNet connections. And I can tell you China was a sieve. I couldn't prove it, but I honestly think that I knew more (reading over people's shoulders) about what was going on in China than the Intelligence folks. Anyhow, Free Speech, and the free flow of information is alive and well in the USA. In a word - we got lots of Open Space. Now that does not mean that we have been using it well, but actually we have gotten along pretty good for several hundred years. Major excesses to be sure.  Total idiocy - absolutely! But in the sloppy way of Democracy - we muddle through. So far at least. We just have to keep the Space open.

  Harrison

  Harrison Owen

  7808 River Falls Drive

  Potomac, Maryland   20845

  Phone 301-365-2093

  Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com 

  Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org

  Personal website http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm
  OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU 

  To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html

  -----Original Message-----
  From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Catherine Pfaehler
  Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2004 4:11 PM
  To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
  Subject: AW: An opportunity for Civil Conversation

  Chris - indeed, America's media seem to be owned by only 5 corporations, all of which have sponsored the current president's campaign. Freedom of speech may well be something which does not exist any longer in your country, as a well-informed friend (named Paul) tells me. Sad. He states that unless you get your informations through the web or speak foreign languages, as an American, you are no longer informed objectively.

  With love and compassion - Catherine

  Catherine Pfaehler

  Kellersriedweg 8

  CH - 2503 Biel

  T/F/B ++41 - (0)32 - 365 68 41

  -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
  Von: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]Im Auftrag von Chris Macrae
  Gesendet: Samstag, 24. Januar 2004 22:49
  An: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
  Betreff: Re: An opportunity for Civil Conversation

  I'm always a bit scared (beyond my depth) about radical democracy but I did feel pretty angry about this story- if anyone feels I've misworded it, I'd appreciate editing advice- on the other hand if you feel like voting on whether CBS merits a future if the circumstances portrayed by moveon.org are correct, then please do vote
  Chris Macrae
  http://www.beyond-branding.com/blog/blogger.html

  SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 2004 
  why you may never see the greatest ad ever made... 
  ...
  the eye-catching opening second: ten-year olds working in a steelworks

  cut several times to other big industry factory lines peopled by kids

  no words just ominous sounding music for 20 seconds

  then silence and 10 seconds for the caption :

  who else did you think would be paying back America's debt?

  -----------------------------------------------------------------

  If not the world's biggest conversation, I would have thought this should be one of America's biggest. But apparently CBS won't screen it even though American people have collected to pay the money their superbowl rate card demands. Unless there is an explanation that's currently alluding my grey cells, I conclude CBS and parent viacom don't believe in freedom of speech

  A few years ago the idea that the public could rate a global empire the size of Andersen as too untrustworthy to be worth having around seemed unlikely. From all our research at Beyond-Branding, it seems time to rip down a big networked media company. Perhaps CBS is the goat that needs to be sacrificed; its not this company's first offence against public decency as the documentary on who tried to block freedom of speech in exposing how much tobacco companies new about addiction to deadly habits showed.

  You can vote for the future of CBS here. http://www.fastcompany.com/poll/?x=1127

  -----Original Message-----
  From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Harrison Owen
  Sent: 11 December 2003 16:16
  To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
  Subject: An opportunity for Civil Conversation

  Folks - Up for a little radical Democracy???

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